Computer or other processor-based systems normally store data, including program instructions, in one or more data storage devices. Data are written to and read from the data storage devices by a central processing unit (“CPU”), such as a microprocessor. An ideal data storage device would have a capacity to store a very large amount of data, it would be able to store and retrieve the data very quickly, and it would be relatively inexpensive in terms of cost per byte of data storage. Other factors that sometimes make a data storage device more desirable are low power consumption and non-volatility, which allows the data to be retained when power is removed from the system containing the data storage device. Unfortunately, the ideal data storage device does not exist. As a result, data storage devices are invariably involve a compromise between capacity, access speed, cost and other factors.
At the high end of the access speed capabilities are static random access memory (“SRAM”) devices, which can be accessed very quickly. However, SRAM devices are relatively expensive because they consume a relatively large amount of area on a semiconductor die. SRAM devices are therefore not used where high data storage capacity is desired. Also, SRAM devices are inherently much more prone to radiation-induced errors. Dynamic random access memory (“DRAM”) devices consume less area on a semiconductor die per byte of storage, and are therefore less expensive than SRAM devices. For these reasons DRAM devices are typically used for application, such as system memory, where higher data storage capacities and greater reliability are needed. Unfortunately, the access times of DRAM devices are significantly higher than the access times of SRAM devices, and they can consume a significant amount of power. Computer systems often balance the advantages and disadvantages of SRAM and DRAM devices by using DRAM devices as system memory, and using SRAM devices as cache memory to more quickly make available of subset of the data stored in system memory.
One disadvantage of both SRAM devices and DRAM devices is that they are volatile. As a result, any data stored in these devices is lost when power is removed from these memory devices. Flash memory devices have the advantages of being non-volatile, but they are more expensive and slower than both SRAM and DRAM devices.
In applications where high data storage capacity is required, a hard drive is generally used. Hard drives have the significant advantages of being able to store a vast amount of data and are thus far cheaper than SRAM or DRAM devices on a per byte basis. Hard drives also have the advantages of being non-volatile, and they can be configured to consume little or no power when the disk drive is not being accessed. Unfortunately, disk drives have the significant disadvantage of being very slow in comparison to SRAM and DRAM devices. In fact, the data access time of a disk drive is particularly high when accessing data that are not stored on the drive in a contiguous manner. As a result, the read/write head of the disk drive must be physically moved each time data stored at a different track are accessed. The high access times of a disk drive used in a computer system can severely limit the speed at which the computer system may function.
One approach that has been used to reduce the access time for disk drives, has been the use of SRAM or DRAM devices as write buffers for data that are written to disk drives and read caches for data that are read from disk drives. Using this approach, when data are read from the disk drive, the data are stored in the read cache. In response to a read request, the read cache is checked to determine if the requested read data are stored therein. If so, the read data are quickly supplied from the read cache. Otherwise, the read data are more slowly supplied from the disk drive and then stored in the read cache. The read cache therefore stores the data that have been most recently read from the disk drive. A read cache can greatly reduce the time required to access data stored in a disk drive. However, a read cache does not reduce disk access times when a system containing the disk drive is powered-up or otherwise initialized. In such case, the read cache will not contain any data, so all of the read data must be obtained from the disk drive. Yet the disk drive cannot provide any data until after the disk drive has spooled up, which typically requires at least 3-6 seconds.
For write accesses, the data to be written to the disk drive are first stored in the write buffer. As a result, data can be stored at the faster rate commensurate with the faster access times of these devices. During the time that data are written to the write buffer, power can be removed from the disk drive spindle motor, head actuator and associated components to reduce the power consumed by a system containing the disk drive. When the amount of data stored in the write buffer approaches the capacity of the write buffer, power is applied to the disk drive, and the data stored in the write buffer are transferred to the disk drive. The use of a write buffer thus provides the advantages of faster write access speed and lower power consumption. However, if power is inadvertently lost from a system using the write buffer, the write data are also lost.
There is therefore a need for a data storage device that has a very high storage capacity that is relatively inexpensive on a per byte basis, that is non-volatile to prevent the loss of write data, that can be configured to consume relatively little power, and that allows for quick data access.